Field Trips and Fall

Our family has really been enjoying fall in Ohio! We've taken some neat "field trips" in the past week or so. Dayton has so much to offer!

Here's Joe, ready for adventure in his first pair of (totally unnecessary) shoes! :-)

Our dapper young men...ready to learn about Dayton's history at the Carillon Historical Park.

Dayton has a very rich history.  It had more patents per capita than any other U.S. city and some great inventions that came from this town include: the cash register (look at these pieces of art below!), the self-starter engine (Dayton was also known as a motor city, similar to Detroit), the modern parachute, the first flying machine (made by the Wright brothers who were from Dayton), the pop top lid on soda cans and even the two-row ice cube tray!  (Okay, maybe that didn't really change the course of history!)

The boys loved riding the carousel, which portrayed scenes and items from Dayton's proud past.

At the park there are several historic buildings.  Below is a one-room schoolhouse from the mid-1800s.

What cute students!

The next is the oldest building in Dayton - a tavern built in 1796.  In the fall and spring, historically accurate meals are served here on the weekends.  We were able to see some ladies preparing the meal for that night - ham, corn chowder, potatoes, green beans, pies, etc.  (It smelled so good!)

Ah...fall....

We visited a replica of the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop, which now houses a museum about the Wilbur and Orville and their ingenuity. 

And, it is home to the 1905 Wright Flyer III - the first practical airplane.  We learned interesting things like how the brothers painted the wooden parts black to look like wrought iron, so that it would deceive anyone trying to steal their ideas! 

We saw a Model T Ford...

...and toured the inside of some of Ohio's first passenger trains. 

We also ate lunch at Culp's Café...modeled after the restaurant that was popular in Dayton in the 1930s and 1940s.  The interior, music and delicious food (including a strawberry phosphate from the soda fountain) were all reminiscent of the 30s and 40s and we loved it! 

A few days later, we took the boys to see a model train/railroading convention.  It was the first time the boys ever saw such displays, and they were mesmerized. 

Jack learned how to operate the controls of one of the displays.

And we learned all about the different sizes/gauges of model railroads.  We had no idea!  It is something we think we'd like to explore as a family when the boys are a little older...and we found we liked the S and HO gauges the best! 

At home, just hanging out! 

Dayton and the surrounding area is also rich with Meyer family history.  So many generations of Josh's family farmed, lived and died here.  We took two different trips to the cemeteries where his grandparents are buried.  (Joe was bundled up for the trip!)

His sweet Grandma "Tutti" or "Squeeze", as Josh called her.  If we had a girl, she would have been named Charlotte.  You can't see it too well, but the inscription below states, "She touched everyone with special love and kindness."  How I wish we could have met her! 

And Josh's paternal grandparents:  Robert and Maxine Meyer.  Jack's middle name comes from this great-grandfather. 

Back at home, we just enjoy spending leisurely days...taking naps, raking leaves, playing outside and enjoying good fall food like apple-smoked pork roast (courtesy of Josh) with cranberry apple chutney and walnut vanilla butternut squash....yum! 

Happy Fall!